Chapter 1468: Fishing Out the Dark Lotus of Doom

Xu Yining must have liked Jiang Fan. No woman would leverage her own marriage for the benefit of someone she didn't care for. Yet, Xu Yining did exactly that. To help Jiang Fan acquire the Violet Lightning and Azure Frost, she feigned acceptance of the marriage proposal. In the end, she let Jiang Fan leave before the wedding took place.

Yue Mingzhu could imagine Xu Yining, adorned in her bridal gown, silently weeping as she sat alone before a bronze mirror. Yue Mingzhu sighed softly, "Why didn't you just go with the flow and marry her? There aren't many people in this world who would do that for you."

Jiang Fan remained silent, only letting out a soft sigh.

Yue Mingzhu frowned, "Are you still bothered by the old engagement between you two? I think you might have been a bit hard on her. Back then, you were just a mute without any spiritual roots. With no emotional connection, who would have been willing to marry you simply because of an engagement? Put yourself in her shoes: would Fairy Yunshang have been willing? Would Gong Caiyi? Would Liu Qingxian? I doubt any of them would have been."

All of Jiang Fan's female confidantes, with the sole exception of Xu Youran, were drawn to him as he gradually rose to prominence. They eventually came together through various twists of fate. If they had been in Xu Yining's position, could they have done better than she did?

Xu Yining, however, was simply unlucky. Only after making her choice did she realize that Jiang Fan was the one she truly desired.

Jiang Fan shook his head. "I've never hated her for anything; how could I possibly bear a grudge?"

Yue Mingzhu didn't understand. "Then why did you reject her? She's now the heir of Starry Mountain, renowned as the most beautiful woman in Guixu Prefecture, and she's deeply in love with you..."

Jiang Fan interrupted her, speaking calmly: "If I were to accept her, what would that make Xu Youran?"

Yue Mingzhu was speechless. After all, there was Xu Youran between Jiang Fan and Xu Yining. When Jiang Fan's engagement was broken off, it was Xu Youran who upheld the marriage contract. That was undeniably the lowest point in Jiang Fan's life. If he married Xu Yining, wouldn't Xu Youran's devotion become a mockery? If you repay kindness with ingratitude, how can kindness be repaid? That was likely his reasoning.

Yue Mingzhu sighed softly, "Xu Youran is indeed remarkable." Although Xu Youran's position as the legitimate wife irked her greatly, she would have been even more resentful if anyone else had claimed that status. Xu Youran was the one who had stayed by Jiang Fan's side, accompanying him from his most humble beginnings. That pure companionship was priceless, unmatched by anyone else.

"Well, there's no point in discussing it further," Yue Mingzhu said, looking helplessly at their desolate surroundings. "It seems we're destined to be a pair of ghostly mandarin ducks in the void." However, she felt no fear. On the contrary, she felt an unprecedented sense of contentment. This was, after all, the only time she could have Jiang Fan all to herself.

Jiang Fan also sighed lightly. "My death is nothing, but it's a pity about you." He was already nearing the end of his lifespan, but Yue Mingzhu was not. Dying here to save him would be too great a waste. It was too late to say such things, however. They were already deeply trapped in the void; no one could save them unless a Sage personally intervened.

Just then, he caught sight of something moving in his peripheral vision. He turned his head, surprised. It was the ruins of the interlayer world he had previously seen through the Nine-Dragon Demonic Cauldron. The Luck-Transferring Lock was still quietly drifting within it.

"To think we'd encounter this here," Jiang Fan remarked with a slight surprise. After a moment's thought, he retrieved his Void Fishing Rod. As the ruins drifted past, he cast the rod and hooked the Luck-Transferring Lock back. "Though it's no longer useful, it was a gift from Master Sin Karma," Jiang Fan said, gently caressing the dark ice and sighing softly.

Yue Mingzhu looked curiously at the Void Fishing Rod in Jiang Fan's hand. She reached out and touched it, saying: "I've long heard you possess a wondrous fishing rod capable of reeling in great treasures. Now I've seen it for myself."

Jiang Fan smiled faintly. "Would you like to give it a try?"

Yue Mingzhu nodded, giggling. "Sure, I've never fished before!"

Jiang Fan embraced her from behind, guiding her hands to hold the fishing rod. He explained: "This fishing rod operates in two modes. If you silently wish for a specific item, it will only search within a five-hundred-mile radius. If you cast it randomly, it will automatically seek out the nearest valuable treasure. As for its range in that mode, I haven't yet determined it. Let's try a random cast."

Under Jiang Fan's guidance, Yue Mingzhu casually cast the rod forward. The fishing line immediately stretched out endlessly into the void, vanishing without a trace. Jiang Fan had little confidence that anything could be caught. This was the void; what could possibly be reeled in here?

However, not long after, the fishing rod suddenly dipped, as if it had hooked something immensely heavy. Yue Mingzhu exclaimed excitedly, "I caught something! I caught something!" She immediately began to reel it in with all her strength.

Jiang Fan was astonished. "Did you really catch a treasure?" He grew curious about what Yue Mingzhu's cast had snagged.

As Yue Mingzhu continued to reel it in, a pitch-black object was swiftly pulled back from the depths of the void. When it reached the two of them, the smiles on both Jiang Fan's and Yue Mingzhu's faces froze simultaneously! More precisely, a shiver ran down their spines!

Because what they had reeled in was none other than... the Black Lotus of Deliverance, which Jiang Fan had banished to the void!

"Gasp!" Yue Mingzhu gasped, her palms trembling slightly. "H-how did we reel in this malevolent artifact?"

Jiang Fan also felt goosebumps prickle his skin. His heart clenched, especially when he saw the lotus root, which had already begun to take on a rudimentary human form. A single lotus leaf from the Black Lotus of Deliverance could transform into a hellish creature of the Sage realm. What then, was the true nature of the main body before them?

After a brief moment of shock, however, he regained his composure. They were already in a death trap; what more was there to fear? He calmly observed the Black Lotus of Deliverance. Perhaps it was his imagination, but the lotus root seemed more human-like than before. Previously, it had merely a round head. Now, there were slight indentations where eyes would be. It even had the faint outline of eyes. This indicated that the Black Lotus of Deliverance was growing rapidly.

"If this thing develops a full human form, will it just spontaneously ascend to sainthood?" Jiang Fan mumbled. Yue Mingzhu instinctively recoiled, clinging to Jiang Fan's arm. "Let's get rid of it," she urged. "It's unsettling to look at."

Jiang Fan nodded slightly. Though he wasn't afraid of it, it was best to keep such a malevolent object at a distance. He retrieved the hook and, with a casual wave, pushed it away. He had expected the Black Lotus of Deliverance to simply drift away uncontrollably into the void. But to their surprise, the lotus pod at its top stirred, rotating in all directions. It seemed to be sniffing something out. Soon, it locked onto the direction behind Jiang Fan and then, under the slightly horrified gaze of both Jiang Fan and Yue Mingzhu, it settled down. The lotus root pointed behind Jiang Fan, with the pod facing the rear. Immediately afterward, the lotus pod spewed out pitch-black, inky Yin energy, propelling the entire Black Lotus of Deliverance in the direction behind Jiang Fan. Jiang Fan quickly pulled Yue Mingzhu aside. They watched it with astonishment.

Yue Mingzhu exclaimed, a mix of surprise and doubt in her voice, "This Black Lotus of Deliverance... it's alive!" Jiang Fan was also secretly alarmed. Judging by its reaction, it was indeed a conscious, living entity. But where was it going?

When he looked back in the direction it was heading, Jiang Fan's eyes lit up with surprise and joy. "It's going back to Middle-earth! Let's follow it!"